A Ne ws l ette r from Je ro n Ravin , JD, Swo p e He al t h Pre s id e nt an d CEO

LiftEvery Voice March 2023

D E AR K A N S A S C I T Y C O M M U N I T Y ,

Central to our mission of providing high quality, patient-centered healthcare is our work to remove barriers to care. This includes offering full-scale wrap-around services, and it also includes investing in improving communities’ access to care.

Over the past several years Swope Health strived to expand services and sites in multiple communities: Swope Health West in Wyandotte County; in the urban core with new sites at Operation Breakthrough, Emmanuel Family and Child Development Center; and the addition of PACE KC. More recently, we’ve focused on South Kansas City, and we’re excited about a new healthcare hub forming in the Hickman Mills community. Construction is now underway for our new Hickman Mills clinic. Moving from the Loma Vista Office Building, 8800 Blue Ridge Blvd., to 6406 E. 87th St., we will be directly across the street from the Swope Health KidsCARE – Tenney Pediatrics clinic we opened last year. Our promise is to streamline access to a comprehensive range of services – primary care, women’s healthcare, and kids’ healthcare – in one spot. And the hub includes the addition of a dental clinic to serve Hickman Mills, with (initially) one dentist and two hygienists providing routine and emergency care for all ages. Swope Health received a $1.42 million community revitalization grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development to support the new 6,320-square-foot clinic. Opening by the end of the year, the Hickman Mills hub clinic will have five medical exam rooms, three dental exam rooms, one procedure room, a telehealth/consultation room and, I am happy to note, room to expand.

And that’s not the only expansion we’re working on... Construction began this month for our new KidsCARE clinic at the Excelsior Springs School District’s Early Childhood Development Center. Our work is progressing there, bolstered by grants from T-Mobile and Delta Dental. We look forward to bringing Swope Health KidsCARE – comprehensive, whole-person care – to Excelsior Springs students and families.

Preview of new KidsCARE clinic at the Early Childhood Development Center in Excelsior Springs.

Our other major initiative rises adjacent to Swope Health Central: the new Adult Wellness Center for PACE KC. You’ll recall, this is the Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, our $14 million development to provide resources and support for the older members of our community. I’m happy to report that construction is now at 80 percent complete and we’re planning the year-end opening of the facility.

Coming Soon! As part of the $94 million in community revitalization grants from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Swope Health received $744,000 for improvements at Imani House, 3950 E. 51st St., just south of the Swope Health Central campus. Imani House – named from the Swahili word for faith – is our center for adult substance abuse treatment, offering an array of services to help break the cycle of addiction. The services include medical treatment, behavioral health assessment, counseling and case management, and recovery support services. The coming renovations will include updates to conference and meeting rooms, so the spaces are more flexible and allow for use of other types of behavioral health services in addition to substance use disorders.

And Swope Health is an active member of the campaign to develop the KCK Community Education, Health and Wellness Center in downtown Kansas City, Kansas. Working with the KCK Community College, we share a vision of lifting the entire community with a $70 million center linking education, healthcare and behavioral health. In eastern Wyandotte County, KCKCC estimates there are 18,000 individuals working fulltime, yet still living in poverty. Of this population, 90 percent have less than a two-year degree and 40 percent have less than a diploma. Fully 50 percent of children live in poverty.

Teaming with Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, the Wyandot Behavioral Health Network, the YMCA, Community America Credit Union and the Kansas City Kansas Community College, we are in good company and sharing common goals. Our initiative brings gamechanging economic development to KCK’s downtown as well expanded educational programs in Commercial Construction Technology and Automation Engineering. KCKCC plans to serve 300 additional students in these two fast-growing career areas, and estimates graduates will earn an average salary of $50,000 a year bringing additional positive impact to the region. At the same center, students and families will engage in wellness and fitness, with ready access to whole-person care. We envision a comprehensive Swope Health Wyandotte Clinic with primary care, pediatrics, dental care and ob/gyn women’s services – all in demand in Wyandotte County, which is currently ranked among the least healthy of all Kansas counties. All of these growth projects demonstrate our commitment to answering the call to remove barriers to care. We’re linking arms with partners, on both sides of state line, to change the downward spiral wrought by poverty, systemic racism and economic injustice.

Aligned with Need Swope Health recently completed its comprehensive data report to the Health Research Services Administration (HRSA), the federal government agency that manages all federally qualified health centers. Our report shows continued growth – completing 2022 with service to 44,309 patients, a new Swope Health record and an 8 percent increase over 2021. It is significant to note Swope Health increased services in all areas – medical services increased by 5 percent; behavioral health by 19 percent and dental by 39 percent. Our additional programs, such as vision care and dietician services, were up 5 percent. Looking at the data slightly differently, you see a 15 percent increase in patient visits from 2021. And as our mission focuses on the underserved, remember that most of our patients earn below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. I share these details to raise the point: the need is growing. Our commitment to our mission calls for ever greater response, addressing the social issues that drive need. These issues extend our focus to transportation, housing, education, nutrition and social justice. We are working to build coalitions to attack these issues. Learn more about our mission and our work in action in our 2021–2022 Annual Report.

Violence as a Public Health Issue Kansas City is on pace to match or exceed the 2022 homicide rate. Not a good start to the year, as 2022 holds the record as the second deadliest year in Kansas City with 171 murders. With these grim totals in mind, we reached out Kansas City Police Department Chief Stacey Graves to join in a conversation with Dr. Jennifer Collier, superintendent of the Kansas City Public Schools, and Alvin Brooks, longtime community activist and civic leader. With our partners at KC Common Good, the directors of the KC 360 project, we will discuss actions and solutions to address the issue, looking for ways all of us can contribute. Please join me Wednesday, April 5 at the Kansas City Public Library-Plaza Branch. We start with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and move into the auditorium for the discussion starting at 6:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. I’d like you to be part of the discussion, and to commit to joining us as working toward the solutions. Our city’s future, our community, our children need us to act.

Jeron Ravin, JD President and CEO, Swope Health

J O IN

US

FOR A COM M U NITY DISC U SSION

Violence Prevention Kansas City, Missouri is the 37th largest United States city, yet suffers with the 5th highest violent crime rate per capita. Our city is at endemic levels of violence with each of the last three years having been the most violent on record. We have collectively lost 505 sons, daughters, and children to homicide.

W ednesd a y , a p r i l 5 , 2 0 2 3

T h e P l a z a Li b r a r y a udito r ium l 4801 Main St, KCMO 64112 Light hors d’oeuvres: 5:30–6:30 p.m. l Panel discussion: 6:30–8:00 p.m. P a n e l i s t s W ILL D IS C U SS e v i d e n c e - b a s e d s o l u t i o n s :

Jeron Ravin, JD

Swope Health President & CEO (Moderator)

Stacey Graves Kansas City Police Chief

Alvin Brooks Community Activist

Dr. Jennifer Collier

Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent

FREE EVENT! OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! 3801 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64130 816.923.5800 l swopehealth.org